MichiganCardinal

I just need Jefferson to not score 61 fantasy points in the second half to secure a back-to-back championship in this league. I like my chances with Hall under center.

Somehow, someway.... Mike Tomlin is 0.500 again.

If the defense plays how it did against Dallas..... and makes tackles it should make.... @Barnes...... I don't think the Super Bowl is an unrealistic aim. This season.

Bills/Dolphins will decide the AFC East. I expect that will get flexed to Sunday Night. Colts/Texans will decide either the AFC South or a wildcard spot, so I would expect that to be a contender for Saturday Night. They might even put Titans/Jaguars on the Saturday afternoon game so that the teams will know in advance. Saints/Falcons might be worth a national spot for the Saints. They need a Bucs loss too though I think, which is unlikely. I'm pretty sure that Lions/Vikings will be 1:00 Sunday. No real implications there on its own. Even if the Vikings win tonight they would need a Seahawks or Rams loss in addition to beating the Lions to make the playoffs. Seahawks/Cardinals and 49ers/Rams both make sense as 4:05 games on Sunday.

I'm curious if he saw the replay that clearly shows him acknowledging Decker and walking away before he made those comments that double down on Skipper having reported. If so, he's just a moron who is so full of himself he can't face the truth that he's not perfect. You made a mistake, own it. If not, he should get the chance to revise his statement. I'd like to think there are more Jim Joyce's out there than ass hole terrible officials. The combination of him being told pregame about the play, Decker reporting correctly, Decker lining up eligible, Skipper lining up ineligibly, and him ignoring all of that information to erroneously say that nah, Skipper reported? He should feel terrible. He cost the Lions the game.

I didn't realize that they'd secured the one-seed until after I posted that. Definitely possible.

I wouldn't say almost certainly. A lot can change. Seahawks have the Cardinals and the Rams have the 49ers next week. If the Seahawks beat the Steelers today, I would say it's more likely to be Lions-Seahawks.

The redemption arc for the Lions. Wildcard against Seattle at Ford Field, Divisional Round against Dallas in Jerry World, NFCCG against the Rams and Matt Stafford in Ford Field. Super Bowl against Baltimore.

The NFC South seems pretty intent on beating themselves at the moment.

I think John Harbaugh is giving Mike McDaniel a piece of humble pie for what they did to the Broncos earlier this season.

Cardinals beat the Eagles. If the Lions beat the Vikings, Giants beat the Eagles, and Commanders beat the Cowboys, Lions would be the two-seed. Otherwise, they’re the three-seed.

It’s not a challenge though, or even a review. It’s just a replay official giving him an out, asking him “are you SURE, because that’s not what it looks like on video at ALL” For all we know they did and he was too stubborn to acknowledge the possibility he ****ed it up

It's also why replay should have gotten involved to save him.

I need to focus on this game to distract me from the criminality occurring in the NFL. Go Blue.

This is so on-brand for ESPN.

I don't know about all the gambling stuff... But I think Teddy should get the start and the OL should rest if there is nothing to gain from a win. No need to put anyone in a position to get hurt. After Minnesota, the goal will be to go 4-0 across four games.

A 7-seed has not beaten a 2-seed since the NFL expanded to 7 playoff teams, but I do think the Rams have the ability to knock a team off, wherever they land... Hopefully it's not the Lions. If the Rams beat the Giants and lose to the 49ers, while the Seahawks beat the Steelers and Cardinals, we'd be looking at an Eagles-Rams, Lions-Seahawks, and Cowboys-NFC South wildcard round. In which case a Rams victory would setup a divisional round game in Detroit, against the winner of Cowboys/NFC South. The road to the 2-seed now would require both the Eagles and Cowboys losing out. Technically the 1-seed is in play too if both of them plus the 49ers lose out. If the Eagles beat the Cardinals and the 49ers beat the Commanders today (both overwhelmingly likely, but you never know), the Lions are locked into the 3-seed.

I agree. If I'm the Lions, I'm thinking there isn't a team in the NFC we can't beat in a fair fight. Raise hell over this so it hopefully doesn't happen again in the playoffs, and then go win four games in a row en route to Vegas. If I'm the Cowboys, that game doesn't inspire confidence in Mike McCarthy or their playoff prospects. I think there is a serious chance that the Cowboys lose to the Bucs, Saints, or Falcons in the opening round.

Even beyond the blatant incompetence, if I'm Sheila, I'm livid with the NFL for the lost revenue likely to be associated with this. While the NFL keeps the gate money from playoff ticket sales, I would ballpark the Lions would make over a million dollars from a divisional round home playoff game, between parking, concessions, and merchandise alone. Not to mention the added economic benefit to Detroit hotels, bars, and restaurants.

I see what you're saying now. Sorry for blowing up your notifications with quotes lol. Yeah, pretty much. The Lions options when the ref screwed up were to run the play and hope they realize their mistake and correct it after the fact, or take a delay of game penalty and draw up a totally new play from the 7.

2021: Lions-Ravens play clock expires, gives Tucker five extra yards for the NFL record. 2022: Seahawks-Rams is the worst officiated game of the season on multiple accounts. 2023: Lions-Cowboys is decided by an official's failing to do the most simple of tasks and look at the jersey of the player who is talking to him. At least they were kind enough to not **** us in the playoffs (yet) and just out of seeding.

It's the complete lack of accountability that gets to me. I wonder if Allen saw the replay before making his comments. Because there is no way someone can see that exchange after the fact and say "yeah #70 reported as eligible". Admit you ****ed it up.

That's not the answer either though. If Allen makes a mistake, it's not on the Lions to take a delay of game penalty to correct him, also in the process ruining their play by announcing to the Cowboys who the ball is going to. It's not like they would correct it if the ball wasn't going to Decker.

The NFL will hope that everyone just forgets this by Tuesday because of the full slate of games today.